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Archaeological sites in the region of Los Cerritos, near the modern city of Escuintla, Guatemala, occupy a privileged position, at a crossroads for communication between the valley of Guatemala and the Pacific coast. Not surprisingly, there is a long history of human occupation in the area, extending from the Middle Formative period to the present. In this talk, I will discuss the archaeology of Los Cerritos and describe a small but important corpus of sculptures from the sites of Los Cerritos Norte and Los Cerritos Sur. The sculptures include examples of various genres, including a niche sculpture, a potbelly (barrigón), a Teotihuacan-style balustrade, and two large stelae in the Cotzumalhuapa style. Together, they encapsulate the region’s culture history, with broad ramifications for the archaeology of southern Mesoamerica.

Boundary End Archaeology Research Center invites you to our fundraising online workshop taught by Dr. David Stuart: A Puzzle in Plaster: The Inscription of Temple XVIII at Palenque Mexico The Introductory lecture is free and open to the public; please register at https://www.palenqueworkshop.org/ This is a hands-on workshop where we will observe, order, and reconstruct the inscriptions of the Temple XVIII at Palenque, Chiapas. After the introductory lecture, there will be four more live sessions. More info and registration: https://www.palenqueworkshop.org

There is a new link (URL) to yesterday's David Stuart lecture on the Aztec Sun Stone. Due to a technical glitch, the livestream lecture held yesterday was not available. A full recording of the livestream can be found here, https://youtu.be/0PS1qjLIXxA See all the past lectures on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_So5zb_7uB7WA17xGu0SWw/videos

Ashuni E. Romero Butrón, with Boundary End Archaeology Research Center, will explore connections between the archaeological site of Quimicho in the modern state of Tlaxcala and Teotihuacan, during the Mesoamerican Classic period. The lecture is free, but donations to Boundary End Archaeology Research Center are appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1736960 Visit our YouTube Channel for recordings of all past lectures in the series. https://www.youtube.com/c/BoundaryEndArchaeologyResearchCenter/videos ABSTRACT Como parte de la construcción de un tramo carretero en el norte del estado de Tlaxcala, México, se realizó un trabajo de Salvamento Arqueológico, mediante el cual se llevaron a cabo exploraciones arqueológicas en el costado sur del asentamiento prehispánico de "Quimicho”. Estos trabajos permitieron exponer, registrar, recuperar y conservar diversos materiales culturales afines al período Clásico. La ubicación espacial del asentamiento, la presencia de arquitectura análoga a la teotihuacana y los distintos materiales cerámicos, como anaranjado delgado e incensarios tipo teatro, entre otros elementos, contribuyen a la explicación del uso que pudo tener esta región para el abasto de mercancías, el intercambio de bienes e ideas por el Estado teotihuacano durante el Clásico mesoamericano. BIOGRAPHY Ashuni E. Romero Butrón, estudió la licenciatura de arqueología en la Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH) en México. Actualmente se desempeña como Investigador para el Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia en Quintana Roo, México. Es director del "Proyecto de Inventario y Registro de Sitios Arqueológicos en el Municipio de Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo". Ha trabajado en diversos proyectos arqueológicos en el Valle Puebla-Tlaxcala y en la Península de Yucatán. Su interés se centra en el uso de Sistemas de Información Geográfica para el estudio de sitios arqueológicos, así como en patrones de asentamiento. Ha impartido numerosas conferencias en foros nacionales y extranjeros, tanto en foros académicos, como para público en general. De igual forma, ha impartido diversos cursos de divulgación científica. Durante este año, 2021, fue galardonado con la beca George Stuart Residential Scholarship (GSRS) otorgada por el Boundary End Archaeology Research Center.

How the Yukatekan language and its written form may have derived from an early Ch'olan script is the subject of Tuesday's Boundary End Archaeology Research Center virtual lecture by Tulane's noted epigrapher and Associate Professor, Dr. Marc Zender. (See Abstract and Biography below.) Donations to Boundary End Archaeology Research Center are appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1736960 Visit our YouTube Channel for recordings of all past lectures in the series. https://www.youtube.com/c/BoundaryEndArchaeologyResearchCenter/videos ABSTRACT Apart from a handful of independent inventions of writing (in e.g., Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, and Mesoamerica), most of the world’s writing systems were either directly borrowed from an earlier script or were developed under the influence of one or more other scripts. Since the development of grammatology (the comparative study of writing systems) as a discipline in the mid twentieth century, scholars have developed tools and procedures for the identification of borrowing between writing traditions and, for instance, the derivation of the Japanese script from Chinese, and of Hittite from earlier Akkadian, can be demonstrated. Mesoamerica is no exception, and the various known writing traditions can all be shown to derive from an early proto-script (which, sadly, no longer exists). Additionally, it is also increasingly clear that the initial development of Maya hieroglyphic writing from this proto-script took place in a Ch’olan linguistic context during the Late Preclassic period (ca 400 BC – AD 100), and that later groups of Yukatekan, Tzeltalan, and K’ichee’an speakers did not borrow and develop their own versions of Maya writing until the Late Classic period (ca. AD 600-900). In this talk, I trace the evidence for the derivation of the Late Classic Yukatekan script from the considerably earlier Ch’olan model script of the southern lowlands. As we will see, many peculiarities of the northern inscriptions and codices can be explained by the complicated process of borrowing and adaptation, as can the considerable linguistic and cultural influences of southern lowland Ch’olan civilization on the languages and peoples of Northern Yucatán. BIOGRAPHY Marc Zender received his PhD from the department of anthropology and archaeology at the University of Calgary in 2004. He has since taught at the University of Calgary (2002-2004) and Harvard University (2005-2011), and he is now Associate Professor of Anthropology at Tulane University, where he teaches linguistics, epigraphy, and Mesoamerican indigenous languages such as Yucatec and Ch'orti' (both Mayan languages) and Classical and Modern Nahuatl (of the Uto-Aztecan language family). Dr Zender's research interests include anthropological and historical linguistics, comparative writing systems, digital epigraphy, and archaeological decipherment, with a regional focus on Mesoamerica (particularly Mayan and Nahuatl/Aztec). He has authored several books and dozens of articles exploring these and related subjects. In addition to his teaching, research, and writing, Dr Zender is the editor of The PARI Journal, and a frequent contributor to Mesoweb, a major internet resource for the study of Mesoamerican cultures.

Contextos no funerarios en la transición hacia el Posclásico: Casos de restos óseos humanos de Chichén Itzá y su región inmediata. Canal de YouTube, 21 de abril, 6 pm hora del este. Más información: https://boundaryend.com ¡Se agradecen las donaciones al Centro de Investigación Arqueológica de Boundary End! https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1736960 Abstract: En la iconografía de Chichén Itzá, algunos de los principales temas representados hacen referencia a la parafernalia humana. Sin embargo, la evidencia sobre prácticas mortuorias y restos óseos, en el sitio, no ha sido tan estudiada. Los materiales esqueléticos en Chichén Itzá pueden informarnos sobre las prácticas mortuorias que tuvo esa sociedad, pero también, sobre la vida y la muerte de los individuos que habitaron en “La ciudad del sol”. Las historias plasmadas en muros y paneles, en conjunto con diferentes análisis de datos arqueológicos pueden darnos una idea sobre esos habitantes. En este estudio, integral y sistemático de los restos óseos hallados en Chichén Itzá y sus alrededores, se busca entender cómo esta urbe fue parte de un sistema regional que posiblemente originó muchas de las prácticas que se verían posteriormente, durante el Posclásico. Title: Nonfunerary Human Assemblages in the Transitional Period to the Postclassic: Cases from Chichén Itzá and its Immediate Region YouTube Channel April 21, 6 pm Eastern. More info: https://boundaryend.com Donations to Boundary End Archaeology Research Center are appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1736960 Abstract: Scenes representing human paraphernalia are one of the main themes depicted in Chichén Itzá's art. Yet, the site's actual mortuary practices and osteological materials remain understudied. The skeletal materials found at Chichén Itzá reflect both the mortuary practices of its society and the life and death of the ancient inhabitants of the City of the Sun. The history depicted on walls and panels at the site can also complement the data obtained from archaeological deposits and other analyses. In this integral and systematic study of the human remains from Chichén Itzá, I locate them in a larger perspective, which is needed to understand how this site was integrated in a regional system that spawned several practices that would become common during the Postclassic Period.

(This is a corrected version of the livestream event from March 31, 2021.) Dr. Jeffrey Splitstoser, vice president of Boundary End Archaeology Research Center presented "Wari Khipus – An Ancient Andean Information System". More info: https://boundaryend.com​ Donations to Boundary End Archaeology Research Center are appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1736960 Visit our YouTube Channel for recordings of all past lectures in the series. https://www.youtube.com/c/BoundaryEndArchaeologyResearchCenter/videos Lecture Abstract: “The Wari most likely invented khipus as an aid to administering their empire, (South America’s first) which encompassed most of present-day Peru and existed from ca. CE 600 to 1000. Wari khipus, like the Inca khipus they predate, consist of colored and knotted cords. These portable, sophisticated devices were capable of accurately recording and transmitting information across these vast empires. This talk will discuss the features of Wari khipus and how they compare to Inca khipus, which provide clues as to the way they were used.” Dr. Jeffrey C. Splitstoser was appointed by George Stuart to serve as Vice President of the Boundary End Center (BEC). Splitstoser and current president, Dr. David Stuart, edit the Center’s two peer-reviewed journals, Ancient America and the Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing. Splitstoser is an Assistant Research Professor of Anthropology at George Washington University. He is also a research associate of the Institute of Andean Studies, Berkeley, and a Cosmos Club scholar. Splitstoser was a Junior Fellow at the Dumbarton Oaks (2005‒2006). As a specialist in ancient Andean textiles, he is part of the Castillo de Huarmey archaeological project, which is excavating Wari textiles and khipus (see the June 2014 issue of National Geographic Magazine). Splitstoser recently received recognition as the textile specialist for the Huaca Prieta Archaeological Project, directed by Dr. Tom Dillehay, where he studied 6,200 year old cotton textiles dyed with the world’s earliest known use of indigo. He received his Master’s degree (1999) and Ph.D. (2009) in anthropology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. His dissertation is a study of the Early Paracas textiles from Cerrillos in the Inca Valley of Peru.

Dr. Heather Hurst of Skidmore College, presented BEARC's Virtual Lecture on YouTube February 24, 2021. More info: https://boundaryend.com​ Donations to Boundary End Archaeology Research Center are appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1736960 Assembling the World’s Most Difficult Puzzle: The Broken Maya Murals of San Bartolo, Guatemala "We are excited to have Heather present this incredible story as part of our Virtual Lecture Series on YouTube," said Maxime Lamoureux St-Hilaire, BEARC's president. https://www.xultun.org/ Abstract: The outstanding origin mythology depicted in the San Bartolo murals was a remarkable discovery from a previously unknown Late Preclassic period Maya site. Ten years of excavation, conservation, and documentation brought the in situ north and west walls of the buried chamber named Sub-1A into focus, significantly advancing studies of ancient Maya iconography, religion, and governance. Yet this was only half the story. In contrast to the excellent preservation of the in situ walls, the east and south walls of the temple were intentionally broken and buried by the Maya as part of its ritual termination in the 1st century. It took several additional years to recover over 3000 mural fragments during archaeological excavations of the Sub-1A chamber, and then slowly piece sections back together based on iconographic and stylistic characteristics. The “second chapter” of the San Bartolo murals is becoming visible in numerous reassembled scenes. This presentation will share our methodologies for reassembly and recent results in solving this challenging puzzle. Imagine 7,000 fragments of stucco over 2000 years old, painted bright colors. Pieced together, they form a stunning panorama of scenes depicting the Maya maize god, blood-letting sacrifices, turtle caves and a principal bird deity. “Seeing this today brings back the thrill of discovery,” said Hurst. “...I’m reminded of the moment we found the beautiful calligraphic lines that were fluid and precise. The awe of seeing the intense colors of black, red, yellow and white…the precise yet stylized images of men, women and deities.” (from Skidmore College's website by Julia Marco.) Hurst's current work on the murals of San Bartolo has support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Foundation, National Geographic Society, and the Mesoamerica Center of the University of Texas at Austin.